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For UAVs, New York skies remain lawless

New York remains lawless when it comes to unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as UAVs or drones. Fly 'em if you got 'em As we reported last fall, UAVs are viewed as the next big thing by many individuals,

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New York remains lawless when it comes to unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as UAVs or drones.

Fly 'em if you got 'em.

As we reported in December, UAVs are viewed as the next big thing by many people, businesses and government agencies. Drones, from little hand-launched craft to airplane-sized cruisers, clearly can and will be used in many beneficial ways. Some people, however, worry about their potential to invade privacy or further the intrusion of government into personal lives.

Still, enthusiasm heightened when site in New York was named of one six UAV national test beds late last year. The first test project -- deployment of UAVs in farm fields in Monroe and surrounding counties -- is now under way, though everyone involved is still puzzling over an abrupt change in the ground rules by the Federal Aviation Administration.

That may be par for the course for the FAA, which is considerably overdue with promised rules to govern the use of small UAVs. In the interim, the agency has insisted that existing regulations allow it to bar all commercial use of drones and place restrictions on hobbyist use. That contention, however, is under challenge in court, and seems to be increasingly ignored.

At any rate, the FAA focuses on when, where and by whom drones are flown. It's not concerned with how they're used or misused.

That would seem to be up to the states. As our December story noted, some states have passed laws laying how what UAVs can be used for or regulating their use by certain groups, including the police.

New York's legislature, however, hasn't been up to the task. As of December, four bills had been introduced in Albany but none had made it out of committee. All were privacy-oriented; three focused at least in part on regulating police surveillance by drones, while the fourth focused on private use of the pilotless craft.

To update that with action during this year's legislative session, the state Legislature now is oh-for-six.

A Senate bill attempted to define how UAVs could and couldn't be used. It would have authorized many uses of drones, including by police, the military, farmers and the media and for transportation, utility, disaster and construction planning. That one actually made it out of one committee by unanimous vote, but languished in a second committee.

A very simple bill introduced in both houses in May would have barred the use of UAVs by hunters. Not even that one, which mirrored legislation already adopted in some other states and had the support of hunting groups, could get a committee vote.

For those interested in other modern technology that makes some people restive, the Legislature ended its session without introducing any legislation to govern police or private-sector use of license-plate readers.

An Assembly bill that would require erection of signs alerting motorists to the presence of red-light cameras at intersections died in the Transportation Committee for the second straight year. Our lawmakers also declined to act on a bill that would have instructed New York City police to create a database of all the private security cameras in that city that capture images of public space.

Quality of Life Watchdog:
I have the quality-of-life watchdog beat, a broad assignment that will allow me to look into problems that detract from our quality of life and celebrate those things that make it better.<br />&nbsp; I've been a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle since 1981. In that time, my assignments have included the environment, transportation and local government. I've conducted watchdog investigations on topics ranging from groundwater contamination to railroad crossing safety to serial killers.&nbsp;